Message Forums

Hi Everyone,

New to the forum and camping, apart from some reasonable experiences attending music festivals before the kids came along!

Now they're at an age where they're keen to try it out (7 & 4), and we can't afford the "regular" kind of holiday so want to invest in some decent-sized and reliably-constructed camping equipment and tent. We've checked through the forum and visited a couple of camping suppliers to get a feel for what we ought to be looking for.

We think we've reduced our list of "possibles" to three "probables" - the Sunncamp Haven 800, the Vango Breckenridge and the Outwell Montana 6. We like these for their sizes, the "Tunnel" design (our garden size would preclude practice-pitching any other shape), the living area space and the configuration of the sleeping arrangements.  Does anyone have any opinions as to the pro's and cons of these tents? Are the sizes suitable for a family of four? What about finding camp sites with pitches large enough to accomodate them - would this prove problematic?

Any help and advice for a newbie family of would-be campers will be very much appreciated!

I have the Montana 6 and like you opted for roomy tent - we have never had a problem with pitch sizes - there is only one size I have been to that charges for sqaure foot coverage which is bonkers - if you are a family of 6 for instance it is natural you are going to have a bigger tent - some sites do have pitches marked out and this can cause a problem if you have an outsized tent - most places charge for additional tents such as pup tents and gazebos - just check with the site before you commit - but on the other side of the coin I have been pitched next to someone that requested and paid for an extra large pitch due to the size of their tent and they were squeezed into a pitch that was nowhere near good enough.  Remember that most places request that you pitch not within 6 mtrs of your neighbour and a lot of sites ensure this is done others state it as part of their rules and dont do anything about it - but one site I witnessed a couple put up their tent and neighbours told them they were too close and would have to move their tent but they did not - the owner of site saw it and made them move - just something to bear in mind with the larger tent too.

Welcome to UKCS - the best place to be if you want advice

We have a Monty 6 and a Vango Diablo 900. The Monty is a respectable 6m x 5m roughly and should be no problem for you to find a suitable pitch. We have had a few raised eyebrows when we tell site mangers the size of our Diablo and I think it these large domes with side bedroom pods that cause the most problems as they consume a huge pitching area. I too have been interested in the new Vango Breckenridge and have seen the 4 man in the flesh. Since we are a family of 5 we always have to have someone sleeping in the main living area where with the Breckenridge the bedrooms look to be generously sized.

I would find it difficult to choose between the Vango and the Monty6. I like the three double bedrooms setup of the Breckenridge but have not seen how much living space this leaves, otherwise I would stick with my trusted Monty. - Hard choice